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Icelandic man survives traumatic mid-air incident, credits recovery to daily swimming regimen

Monday 15th 2024 on 03:30 in  
Iceland

An Icelandic man, who broke his neck during a Singapore Airlines flight, compared the sudden drop of the plane to being hit on the head. Despite the traumatizing experience, he claims not to be afraid of flying and took another flight to Gothenburg.

The man, named Aron Matthíasson, was on a business trip to New Zealand when the plane suddenly dropped 48 meters. He is an engineer at Marel and is currently on the mend. He credits his recovery to his daily swims in the Suðurbæjarlaug pool in Hafnarfjörður.

“It lifts me up physically and mentally. Instead of lying in bed all day, I go for a walk and swim, and just lie there in the pool,” he said.

Following his hospital stay in Bangkok, Matthíasson flew home, feeling quite terrified during the first of three flights. However, by the last flight, from Europe to Iceland with Icelandair, his fear of flying had subsided.

“It’s a bit like the referee has been taken out and the game is being played according to rules set by the other team,” he said. Despite his ordeal, Matthíasson is not afraid to fly again.